To think this is appalling and to wonder why the Charity Commission hasn't shut this so called charity down?

[Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g]

It's Mermaids, of course. The post I've screenshotted below (from Facebook, I saw it first via Twitter) appears to be celebrating self-harm. Safeguarding fail. I don't understand why the Charity Commission is taking so long to release the results of their investigation into Mermaids, unless it's because there's so much new evidence to consider, so every time they think they've finished they have to add a bit.

Glorifying self harm.

I expect nothing less from them tbh.

https://mermaidsuk.org.uk/transyouthmanifesto

This is the full manifesto. As expected, it's full of paranoia and statements that trans kids are hated and in a trans utopia they would get exactly what they want without delay or challenge. I feel that a responsible charity working with young people and children would not encourage them to feel this way.

Appalling.

This is bloody disgraceful. Kids are being fed this born in the wrong body BS.

It’s awful. If young people have feelings like this they need help and support. Putting it in some kind of ‘manifesto’ is very odd, and seems to be supporting it - isn’t a manifesto meant to be full of your aims and ambitions!? 🤔

And it only seems five minutes ago that they were being touted as a valuable resource for troubled kids! The harm they've already done!

I’ll quote Lord Young (Lab):

”This is a cult—it really is”

9 February 2024, House of Lords debate on Conversion Therapy Prohibition (Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity) Bill [HL]

https://hansard.parliament.uk/Lords/2024-02-09/debates/DB690A34-D945-4EDA-9178-DD6357498F45/details

I'm really shocked

They have utterly failed young, vulnerable people. I was pondering this issue recently, it's the opposite of cruel to be kind. They're attempting to glamorise and sell an image that just doesn't work in the real world.

The young person who wrote that has been sold a lie by adults they trusted. I don't understand why the people who've done this aren't explaining themselves in court.

Sick / sickening 🤬

Absolutely disgusting pushing their ideology onto vulnerable confused kids and glorifying self harm

Why are adults so keen to encourage the mutilation and chemical castration of teenagers?

It sickens me that we’ve got to a place where not only is it accepted, but to question this abuse is considered bigotry.

I find it really strange that the societal push for effective child safeguarding has effectively had enormous pushback in the form of supposed children’s charities such as Mermaids. What do the adults who run these organisations stand to gain from poor safeguarding practices?

Cough cough.

I seem to have developed a really bad cough.

Cough cough.

Dreadful thing this cough of mine.

I hope you feel better soon @RedToothBrush Something in the air causing it do you think?

Since I developed my cough, the OP of a thread has said it's ok to share a conversation she's had with mermaids.

Mermaids who I might remind you say on their website
Does Mermaids offer healthcare advice?
Mermaids does not encourage, influence or direct young people, their families or professionals involved in their care to pursue any one pathway. When people seek advice on healthcare, we signpost to relevant, trusted organisations such as the NHS.

Mermaids does not give healthcare advice. We may provide general information on NHS clinical pathways, but are not involved in the provision of medical care or in advising around whether a medical pathway is appropriate for an individual.

https://mermaidsuk.org.uk/frequently-asked-questions-2/#:~:text=Mermaids%20does%20not%20encourage%2C%20influence,does%20not%20give%20healthcare%20advice.

Thread in question here.

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/lgbt_children/5157512-my-daughter-is-identifying-as-trans-6-months-after-sexual-assault?page=1

I think it's important to tread carefully with this poster on that thread as there's a vulnerable child involved and it's highly sensitive but what I've just read deeply concerns me.

I really don't want other posters to badger the poster concerned (I've already done that and feel uncomfortable to a degree about that but felt it necessary to draw attention to how problematic what's been said is).

It reads like a totally biased one sided leading response which looks a lot like grooming to my eyes. I do think others probably need to see and draw their own conclusions rather than accept how I feel about it though purely for transparency purposes.

Given the entire history of Mermaids and how they have given evidence in court regarding giving/not giving medical advice and the content of the Cass Review which stated that affirmation was not a neutral act and that trans identifying teens were a complex heterogeneous group with multiple needs rather than a homogeneous group, I find it totally inappropriate and irresponsible for the circumstances described. It's completely at odds with it and what they say on their own website.

It's horrified me.

In my opinion it's yet another safeguarding failure.

Those screenshots are awful - and an indication that the "worker" was completely disinterested in the trauma the girl had experienced but was instead using it as an opportunity to gaslight that she must be trans.

These are the people that mentally vulnerable children are turning to. It really does need shutting down.